with the matter of people dming to promote i think it ends up in similar camp as sub for sub. I personally haven't been active enough on Tapas to get these kinds of messages in a long while but as was mentioned its a big reason why vets of the site did their best to explain some of the nuances of self promo and recommend methods that wouldnt risk potentially having them viewed in a negative light in the same way sub4sub practices get a bad rep (even tho reasons are given as to why its not always productive)
i dont think anyone wants another creator to fail but its why we strongly encourage folks to find non intrusive methods to promote their work. i think the few instances i genuinely didnt mind having someone dm their series was because it was similar to other series i was already subbed to and actively interested in or because we had already interacted and built a good rapport
otherwise it was a "sorry thanks but no thanks" and maybe some suggestions of other places that would maybe serve them better for promoting their work or just "swiping left" and moving on with my day, especially if they were coming in high volumes. it's something thats gone on for ages so ive kind of gotten over making a fuss about so if it does cross my path i have my methods for responding but its just something that comes with the territory (especially when there's times you see the same with just general social media) 🤷♂️